


made in abyss as a novel

by perpetuallymanascrewed



Category: Made in Abyss (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Novelization
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:01:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25422808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetuallymanascrewed/pseuds/perpetuallymanascrewed
Summary: exactly what it sounds like.
Kudos: 5





	1. Orth, town on the edge of the abyss

_The compass aimed at the emptiness of space, pointing towards that which cannot be grasped. But it had another meaning. It did not point towards the endless sky, but rather the exact opposite._

_Towards the depths of the abyss._

"Again?"

"Well, here we go!" Riko stood on the windowsill of Belchero orphanage, looking out over the abyss.

"Hey, red whistles?" Jiruo said, looking through the door. "Can you deliver these letters?"

"Yes, I'm on it!" Natt and Shiggy climbed down from the ledge. "The mail ship came back from their expedition. All the black whistles are home!" Riko quickly climbed down from the windowsill and followed after them.

_It was around 1900 years ago. A cave was discovered around the islands of the southern ocean of Beolusk. It had a diameter of 1000 meters, but the depth remained unknown due to a mysterious phenomenon preventing outside observation. Surveying had to be done in person. Treasure hunters and thrill-seekers alike gathered to challenge the mysterious Abyss. Using balloons, these explorers delivered their findings to the surface. These delvers eventually created the town of Orth._

"Wow!" Riko watched carefully through the telescope. "Earthen-bridge chicks!" The small birds sat in the nest as a larger one carried some kind of fish to them. Faster than she could see, a larger bird flew past and took the Earthen-bridge that was carrying the fish out of the air. "What is that? It just ate one of the Earthen-bridge birds!" She continued to watch through the telescope, as the rest of the Earthen-bridge birds began to make a counter-attack.

"See anything interesting, Riko?" her aunt asked through the door. "Don't you ever get tired of using our telescope? it can only see 300 metres."

"No way!" Said Riko. "I can see their nest from here." Riko noticed the letter that her aunt was reading, and recognised her uncle Habolg's handwriting. "How's uncle Habolg's letter?"

"From here, we're about to enter the Inverted forest on the second layer." Riko listened intently as her aunt read through the letter. "The trees and grass all grow upside-down, and the fog climbs like an inverted waterfall from a sea of clouds."

"I want to be a white whistle, like Habolg." Said Riko.

"Is that really a good idea?" Asked her aunt. "Habolg still wants to be one, even though he's getting old." They were drawn away from their conversation as the shop bell rang. "A visitor?" Her aunt stood up and walked over to the counter. 

"Riko!" Shiggy stood in the doorway. He had clearly been running, shown by the sweat on his face and his fast breathing. "There you are. Hi Lafii-san." "Riko, we have to get back to the orphanage." Riko looked disappointed.

"But I was watching the birds!" She said in protest.

"There's an expedition for red and blue whistles tomorrow." Said Shiggy. "We should go back soon in case they need to explain anything."

They walked back to the orphanage together.

"...And Habo-san is hoping to become a white whistle soon!" Said Riko as they walked.

"That's great!" Said Shiggy. "White whistles are recognised as heroes of every country."

"They have no depth limit!" Said riko. "They're the pinnacle of all delvers!"

"That seems too difficult for me." said Shiggy. "You want to be a white whistle though, Riko, don't you?"

"Exactly!" said Riko. "Tomorrow is just the beginning! Don't you think it's only a matter of time? The star compass, the scale umbrella, The sun orb, all my artifacts that you guys make fun of might become really valuable when i'm a white whistle!"

"The depth limit for red whistles is 450 metres." Said Jiruo, their team leader. "The decompression sickness when you make your way back, the dizziness and the nausea will be unnoticeable when you get used to it. You will be exploring on your own in the section that you have been assigned. Although it's unlikely that you'll be in danger of any monsters or falling, have your smoke and whistle prepared, just in case. That's all. Any questions?" When nobody raised their hand, he continued to talk. "The director would like a word with you all." The director stood up.

"I just wanted to say, that your whistle possession is only permitted as you are part of the guild orphanage, so work hard to make your parents proud. And one last thing: Keeping relics for yourself is not allowed. This is difficult for me to say, but somebody had helped themselves to the orphanage's valuables. This is inexcusable. Next time the punishment won't just be hanging naked."

 _They must have found my compass._ Thought Riko.

"Where are you searching, Shiggy?" asked Natt.

"About 200 metres from the windmill trail. What about you, Natt?"

"About 130 metres from there."

 _130 metres, the same place as before._ Thought Riko. 

After the rest of the orphanage had gone to sleep, Riko went downstairs to talk to Jiruo.

"Leader!"

"What is it, Riko?" Asked Jiruo, slightly surprised by this.

"Please change my area of responsibility to somewhere deeper!" Said Riko.

"Such an audacious thing to say." said Jiruo. "What's your reason for diving."

"errr... because it's there?" said Riko. She hadn't thought this far ahead.

"It's work, like getting past bed wetting." said Jiruo. "To begin with, 400 metres is your limit. It's different if you go to explore places your not used to.

"I know I need more experience if I'm going deeper." said Riko. "I want to become a white whistle soon so I can catch up to my mother, and explore the places that she went, Because..." Jiruo cut her off.

"It's too soon. Let's see... if you discover the most valuable artifact in tomorrow's mission, I'll think about it."

"Stone lantern, check. Depth metre, check. Extra pickaxe, check." Riko finished the last check over her gear. "Only the rice balls left." She lay down on her bed. "I'll put all my effort into excavating tomorrow." _Leader's condition's were tough._ she thought. _The strategy of mentioning my mother worked, but he became stricter after that. Apparently she was his mentor._ Riko could barely remember anything about her mother, not even her face or voice. 

Riko ate breakfast, put on her delving gear, said goodbye to the rest of the orphanage, and walked towards the edge of the abyss.

_The lure of the abyss is inescapable. Even so, nobody has ever reached the bottom. For 1900 years, we have ventured into the darkness, hoping to make new and greater discoveries. Rare and dangerous beasts, relics that surpass understanding, and a golden city that sleeps at the bottom of the abyss. The romance of a lost age and the arcane, drawn to the great unknown, the abyss devours us._

_The abyss, the world's only remaining uncharted region._


	2. The abode of trees and fossils

"Come on, Natt! why're you even down here anyway?" Riko said, angrily.

"my area's just above yours." Natt responded.

Riko looked down to where an elevator was carrying delvers up, Six hundred metres below where she was.

"Is it just me, or is it really quiet today?" asked Natt.

"I'm not that annoying!" Riko shouted up from below.

"It's not you." said Natt. "There aren't even any earth-beaks around today. I can't hear them at all."

"Fine by me." said Riko. "It'll make salvaging from their nests easier."

"I haven't seen this before!" said Riko. She swung her pickaxe one last time, and the rock wall gave way. She looked around the cave, seeing various small relics. She saw a large relic stuck in the floor, and tried to pull it out. "This'll get me first place on the assessment for sure!" she said happily as the relic came out of the floor, taking a large part of the floor with it. She looked down into the large hole that she had just created, and immediately jumped back in shock. She slowly walked back to the pit, and looked down at the skeleton that she had found. It was a praying skeleton, one of the remains from two thousand years ago, all stuck in a permanent position of praying. She whispered a short apology for disturbing its rest, and left the cave to rejoin Natt.

"Natt! Natt! Come on, this stuff is heavy!" she had walked back up to his area, but couldn't find him anywhere. "Where are you?" she turned a corner, and saw Natt lying unconscious on a ledge, with an immense monster slowly floating towards him. 

_A bloody_ maw. thought Riko, recognising the monster. _What is it doing this high up?_ The bloody maw floated closer to Natt, slowly opening its wide mouth. Riko had to do something. without thinking, she pulled her red whistle out of her pocket, and blew it as loud as she could. The bloody maw instantly flicked its head towards her, and began to charge. Riko turned and ran back down the path. The bloody maw flicked its tail into her back, knocking her down a hole.

Everything hurt. Her arm was probably broken. The bloody maw charged down from above her, its mouth opening to reveal endless rows of fangs. She held her arms up to shield herself, knowing it would made no difference.

There was a bright flash, lots of heat, and a smell of smoke. She opened her eyes, squinting from the light. The bloody maw's face was on fire. It screamed in pain and floated away. Riko lay there in shock.

"Hey!" Natt stood on the edge of the hole. he had a small wound on his head. "That snake thing came after you, right? are you ok? I'll get you out of there." Natt went back to get his rope, and riko stood up and looked over to whatever had hurt the bloody maw. The trees in the cave had been burned to cinders. She continued along the path, finding a small necklace on the ground as she went. The burned parts of the trees slowly became closer together, eventually leading to a clearing, where a boy, about the age of Riko, was lying unconscious on the ground. 

_A child?_ Thought Riko. _What's he doing here? Did he follow my whistle?_ She noticed that he wasn't breathing, but then she looked over at his arms.

They were made of Metal, and the palm of his right hand was smoking.

_He's not human._


	3. Riko's bedroom: former torture chamber

"Is it working?" Asked Riko. "Is it connected?"

"I think he moved." said Natt. "Try it stronger next time. Turn the dial up to two."

"Riko, why is the dial at twenty?"

"Let me press it this time, Shiggy! Everyone step back!"

Riko pressed the button, and most of the electricity in Orth was sent through the body of the boy that she had found in the abyss.

"He's awake!" Riko said excitedly, and ran over to him. "I told you the electricity would work!"

"Hey, robot boy!" said Riko, talking faster than anyone could understand her. "Can you understand what I'm saying How did you beat the snake from that distance Oh wait tell me your name first Where are you from Oh sorry my name's Riko..." The boy looked up at her in a mix of confusion and terror.

"...and were you the one who dissolved the fossilised trees..." Riko continued talking.

"Are you sure he understands what we're saying?" asked Natt.

"Good point." said Riko. "Well then, we'll try using hand signals to coordinate." Riko began making delver hand signals at the boy.

"I'm sorry to answer with a question, but..." Said the boy before Riko interrupted him.

"He spoke! Amazing!"

"Where am I?"

"Here?" asked Riko. "This is my room!" Riko moved out of the way so that he could see the repurposed torture chamber that she used as a bedroom.

"Welcome to Orth, Robot boy!"

"That sinister instrument of pain..." Said the robot, looking over at the device they had used to shock him. "Are you people torturers?"

"No," said Natt. "That was just the original purpose of Riko's room. We're delver apprentices."

"So robot boy," said Riko as she pushed Natt away. "Tell us about yourself! What's your name? What can you do? Who made you? I'm not really sure, so I'd like your help..." She stopped, seeing how confused the boy was. He looked down at his Metal hands.

"I'm a robot?"

"Yes you are!" Said Riko. "We moved you with electricity, and you're fire resistant."

 _Did he forget that he was a robot?_ Thought Riko. _Did the shock wipe his memory?_

"Hey everyone, this is serious!" Shiggy came running into the room. "All the electricity in the orphanage is gone, and the leader's coming straight here! Riko, hide the robot boy!" Riko quickly threw a blanket over the boy. 

"Don't come out until leader's gone!" whispered Riko, through the blanket. "We'll all be in trouble if he finds you!"

"Riko, open up!" Jiruo's voice came through the door. 

"Yes sir!" Riko opened the door. 

"What've you done this time?" Asked Jiruo.

"n-nothing sir!" Said Riko "I just slipped and hurt my leg, everything's fine now, so-" Jiruo walked straight past her to the chair where the robot was sitting, and pulled the blanket away, revealing nothing underneath except for the helmet that the robot had been wearing.

 _This must be one of Shiggy's machines._ Thought Jiruo. _I don't know why he still makes them._ He turned back to Riko. 

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sorry." Said Riko.

As Jiruo began to talk to her, She looked past him, Where the robot boy was hanging from a beam on the ceiling. One of his arms had extended on a cable, and wrapped itself around the beam. 

"..You're going to need to make a very long apology before you even start explaining what happened." Said Jiruo, and dragged Riko down the hallway with him.

The robot boy looked down from the ceiling. _I see. Once you're caught, you're done for._ He thought. His arm unwrapped itself from the beam, and he slowly came back down. His hand fell on the floor next to him, then the cable connecting it to his body pulled it back in.

 _My arm_ _extended._

He looked over at the cracked mirror, and properly saw himself for the first time. His shirt was gone, although he wasn't sure if he ever had one. He had two red lines on each side of his chest. His arms were made of metal up to just above his elbows, and then they looked like everyone else's. He had a navel, although he wasn't sure why he needed one. He soon realised that he was hungry. Why did a robot need to eat? He walked over to the chair, and took the helmet that he had been wearing, and put it on his head. As soon as he put it on, part of it began to glow, creating a pattern. 

_None of this makes any sense._


	4. Belchero orphanage

_Why is it that_ delvers _who explore the depths never return?_

Because they always have fatal encounters?

_Incorrect. Dangerous beasts are not a problem for delvers._

What could it be that hinders them, then?

_It's the return. The problems arise on the way back. Having survived the dangers, with backpacks full of relics, they head towards the light of home using the tried path. Such hopes are dashed by a phenomenon of unknown origin. When heading to the surface from the first layer, you suffer minor decompression sickness. From the second layer and deeper, nausea and numbness of limbs. From the third layer: loss of balance, and visual and auditory hallucinations. From the fourth layer, you experience pain throughout your whole body, and bleed through every orifice. The symptoms become more and more severe. From the fifth layer, confusion and self-harm associated with the loss of senses. From the sixth layer, either loss of humanity or death. Returning from the seventh layer is truly dangerous: death is inevitable. As long as the delver is human, it is inevitable._

_The curse of the abyss._

"For us delvers, as humans, there is no way to escape this curse." Said Jiruo as he finished his lesson.

"Well if that's the case, then robot boy will be fine!" said Riko, when they were back up in their room. "He came from the depth of the abyss."

"That makes sense," said the robot boy, "but if that's the case, then why did I come up here?" 

"You could be a messenger of peace," Riko thought out loud. "But you melted the fossil trees and your skin's fireproof..." She thought for a moment. "I've got it! you're an attack robot who came to invade the surface! But when you tried to rescue me, you used all your energy in the attack, and lost your memory." Shiggy stood up, holding a large book.

"If you don't mind," He said, "There's something I want to tell you about him." he put the book down on the table, and Riko recognised it as a relic catalogue. "All major relics that are publicly known are listed here." Riko recognised one of the relics in the book, a large metal bell. "The unheard bell! my mum was the one who found this!"

"I've been through the entire book." Said Shiggy. "All tier-one, tier-two, and all other relics, but there's no mention of anything like an autonomous robot. Riko, tell us what you've found out about his features."

Riko opened her notebook. "He can work on either electricity or food. He has an unknown power which melted through fossilised trees. His skin is smooth, but it's strong enough to stop a knife, and he can sweat and cry. His senses are better than ours, to the point where he can tell the difference between our clothes by smell only. I don't know what the metallic parts of him are made of. They couldn't be pierced with a drill. He has an incredibly strong grip, but he was also able to lightly hold my hand."

"none of these attributes show up in the relic catalogue, so he's beyond a first-tier relic." said Shiggy. "His entire body is a relic. He's probably the most powerful treasure in the history of the abyss."

"amazing!" said Riko. "Even my mother, who was a white whistle, never found anything like him! I'll get super famous, and my star compass and scale umbrella will become famous as well!"

Shiggy looked worried. "What if they think we've concealed a treasure of the abyss?"

"But if we report him now," Said Riko, "They'll take him away immediately. withhold his status as a relic, and take him apart, piece by piece."

"What're we going to do about our lessons, though? we won't be able to be with him."

"I'll raise him secretly in my room!" Said Riko. "That should be alright!"

"Because that worked with your dog." Said Natt.

"Don't worry." Said Shiggy. "I have a plan."

Reg stood at the door to Belchero orphanage. Riko had given him the name, Despite Natt's protests about how he couldn't be named after a dog. Riko, Natt and Shiggy hid behind a tree, watching him talk to Jiruo. 

"You want to be a delver?" Asked Jiruo.

"Yes." answered Reg.

"This is an orphanage." Said Jiruo. "What happened to your family?"

"I don't have any since my sister died." Said Reg. "She told me I could become a delver here."

Riko looked through the bush. "He's nervous, but he's doing well." She looked back through the bush.

"...You say you're from Orth, but I've never seen you before. Where were you born?"

"I don't know." Said Reg. "My sister found me a year ago. I don't have any memories from before the accident, when me and my sister were near the south cliff."

"Are you sure it's going to work?" asked Riko nervously.

"It'll be fine." Said Natt. "There's no way the leader's ever been to the slums."

Jiruo looked down at Reg's metal hand. "What happened to your hand?" Reg held up his hand.

"It's been like this as long as I can remember. The old man at cliff street said it could be foreign technology."

"What's your name?" asked Jiruo.

"Reg."

As Jiruo led him into the orphanage, he turned around. "By the way, Reg, there was an incident in the abyss a few days ago. Do you know anything about it?"

"No." Said Reg. "What happened?"

"...It doesn't matter." Said Jiruo. "Come in."

Before long, Two months had passed. 

_Only three days until my first descent, then I can say goodbye to this bell._ Reg looked over the town, holding his bell in his metal hands. 

"Reg!" Riko came running up to him. "Habo's squad just came back!"

Reg looked over his shoulder. "Lafii's husband?"

"He went to the inverted forest!" Said Riko. "Let's ask him about it!"

The crowd was massive, and Riko and Reg were stuck in the middle of it, unable to see a thing. They slowly moved through the crowd, getting as close as they could. 

"Riko." said Reg as he looked at the delver team. Habo had just handed something to one of the relic curators. "Habo just gave a white whistle to that man."

"Did you hear who's whistle it was?" said one of the people in the crowd behind them.

"Apparently it was Lyza the annihilator's!" Upon hearing this, Riko's face went blank.

"Riko?" asked Reg. "Are you ok?"

Riko looked over at him. "Lyza was my mother's name."


	5. Resurrection festival

_The last unexplored region in the world: The abyss._

_We are the delvers who challenge it._

_The red whistles: The apprentices._

_The blue whistles: The adepts._

_The moon whistles: The teachers._

_The black whistles: The experts._

_And finally, those who stand above them all. Those who have surpassed their human limitations._

_The white whistles: The heroes._

_They've brought up discoveries that changed the world. No matter how far or how deep they go, They always shine brightly. They are our light in the darkness._

The man leading the group of delvers began to speak. "Even among the white whistles, She was the bravest one we had. After ten years, The soul of a hero has reached home. Her final journey has come to an end. Most of the records she set have remained unbeaten. She's a truly legendary delver. The amount of relics she found was of course, staggering, but what deserves the most attention is her adamant bravery! She's slain so many dangerous beasts from the depths that we've lost count! twelve times foreign delvers attacked her and twelve times she fought them off." He turned on the gem projector behind him. "People call her: Lyza the annihilator! Now, If you wish to get a replica of the annihilator's whistle, or a copy of her biography, please find your way to Belchero orphanage. Be wary of imitations!" The celebration of the annihilator's whistle being found had been going on for a few hours now. Natt passed Reg a bag of flower petals.

"These are the flowers that grow everywhere around here, aren't they?" asked Reg.

"They symbolise endurance." Said Natt. "People use them at celebrations like this, as well as funerals. It's called eternal fortune, and it can even be found growing in the abyss. They're a symbol of Orth, and are often used in motifs. Like on the Annihilator's whistle."

Riko sat in the alleyway, holding her mother's white whistle. She remembered Habolg giving it to her.

 _"Can I really have this?"_ She had asked Habolg.

 _"Of course you can."_ He had said.

_"But I'm just a red whistle..."_

_"A white whistle is unlike the other types of whistle."_ Said Habolg. _"It can only be used by it's original owner. Every white whistle has a unique design, and they're all made of artifacts. Thanks to their hidden crests, they're impossible to recreate._

 _"That's not what I meant."_ Said Riko. _"Wouldn't there be a better choice, like someone from the mission?"_

 _"It's a custom."_ Said Habolg. " _A delver's whistle always goes to their relatives. If it's too much pressure for you, you can entrust it to the guild."_

 _"Lyza had this sealed letter on her as well."_ He held the letter up so she could see. _"They were given to us by the guards of seeker camp. Because they're the property of a white whistle, they're going to be examined. It might take some time before they get to you."_

"Riko!" Jiruo's voice brought her back to reality. "What're you doing hiding over here? The resurrection festival today is celebrating your mother's achievements. You should be out there too. Lyza loved festivals like this, and this one is her last, in a way."

"What was my mother like?" Asked Riko. "Even though she's one of the white whistles I look up to, I don't even remember her face."

Jiruo sat down next to her. "She began her final descent when you were about two years old. As a delver, Lyza was like people describe her, A legendary white whistle. That said, it's not like I ever delved with her." Jiruo looked sad about this. "So I only knew who Lyza was on the surface. The audacious and mischievous Lyza. A heavy drinker, quick to get into fights, always going too far with pranks, and you could never tell how honest she was being. On top of that, she had a brutally unbalanced diet. If she weren't a white whistle, she would just be a regular weirdo..." He trailed off with this. "...Riko, how are your eyes?"

"...What?" Riko was surprised by the sudden change of subject. "They're ok. As long as I'm wearing my glasses, I don't get headaches. What about them?"  
"Your eyes aren't bad." Said Jiruo. "Not in the normal sense, at least. Your sight is fine, but when you try to look at things without crystal lenses, like the ones in your glasses, you get headaches. It's the same as when people return from the abyss. It's the curse of the abyss."

Riko looked confused. "I thought you said my eyes were bad because I used to read in the dark."

"That's nonsense you were told to teach you discipline." Jiruo looked up at the sky. "It's been twelve years now, maybe a bit more. At the time, Lyza had just become pregnant with you. While she was in this delicate state, she was ordered to go with the survey team to the fourth layer."

"Why?" Asked Riko.

"It was a mission ordered by the country. She couldn't refuse. She was to collect a tier-one artifact, the unheard bell, from the depths. The journey was harsh and lasted over ten months. She had perpetual run-ins with the delvers from other countries. Her team was almost decimated. It was on that mission that your father, the black whistle Torka, lost his life. And in the midst of all that, you were born."

"You mean I was..."

"Born in the depths of the abyss." Said Jiruo. 

"Does that mean I'm stronger against the curse?" Asked Riko.

"Of course not. Don't you remember what happened on your first descent?" Riko remembered how she had claimed to be fine, before vomiting all over the floor and passing out.

"The ascension strain from the fourth layer isn't something an adult can survive easily, much less a baby." Said Jiruo. "The intense body pains and Hemorrhaging... Indirectly, that was what caused your father's death."  
"How did I survive, then?" Asked Riko.

"It's thanks to the curse-warding box that Lyza brought with her." Answered Jiruo. "It was extremely heavy, though. The strongest person on the team had to carry it. But after the mission was accomplished, the decimated squad no longer had the strength to carry it home. Lyza abandoned the unheard bell, and carried you together with the strongest person from her team. Don't make the mistake of thinking it was the obvious thing to do, just because she was your mother. A tier-one artifact is something that can change the balance between countries. Just one of them can make the entire city richer and guarantee the future of the team. It's value is almost too high to be caluculated. And yet Lyza chose you. Riches and Prestige, Friendship and Trust. She was willing to give up any and all of those things. She wished to have you. Your eyes were affected by the curse at the time. Though the curse ward did its job, it couldn't completely protect against the curse. Lyza regretted not being able to protect your eyes. Growing up vigorously, knowing nothing of those worries, ignorant of the pressures on her courageous mother, and now attempting to choose her own path, the one she risked her life to protect continues to shine brightly to this day. Now, what are you going to do about the artifact left by the legendary white whistle, Lyza the annihilator? Are you just going to leave it there?"

 _Perhaps I shouldn't mention how after all this was over, Lyza immediately went back, killed the entire group of delvers that had attacked them, and carried the bell back to the surface._ Thought Jiruo. _That would ruin the story._

"Riko?" Jiruo looked through the door to the room where her and Reg were cleaning.

"Yes sir!" Riko answered.

"You've received a message from delver guild HQ. You've been granted permission to read the sealed letter. Be at the headquarters before six! Reg, go with her. She's unreliable, and I can't watch her. 

Riko and Reg arrived at delver guild HQ a few hours later. They were lead to the the room with the letter, where the pages were organised across the table. They contained information on creatures and artifacts Riko that weren't in any registers Riko knew. On one of the last pages, there was a sketch of something that looked like Reg. The final page was smaller than all the rest, just one line of text.

_I'll be waiting for you at the bottom of the abyss._


	6. Premonition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is late, I had to restart three times.

Riko opened her mother's letter to the pages where she described the creatures she met in the abyss. _In the sandstone area of the sea of corpses, I encountered giant seven-tailed scorpions. Each of its tails contained a poison that could melt flesh and bone, and each scorpion was over two metres tall. I think I'll call it desert hydra. Not to be used as a food source._

Riko flicked to the next page, where there was a drawing of some kind of immense creature with a shell. _It's a lizard that grows up in its eggshell. The younger ones are ferocious, but can be eaten without too much work. They taste good as well. They continue to grow as long as they live, and their lifespans are ridiculously long. The largest one I encountered was thirty metres tall. And despite how gigantic it was, it was just as ferocious. I don't know if it tasted as good, though. I'll leave that for my successors to discover. I'm naming it the giant armourshell._

She turned to the next page, where there was a drawing of some kind of rat with a shell. _The hermit-crab like animals on the sixth layer are totally cute. They live quietly in the city areas of the sixth layer. Although they're friendly towards humans, they'll bite you if you try to eat them. I tamed one, and I can use it as a pillow now. I'll name it the hermit rat._

She turned the page again, where there was a drawing of a human silhouette wearing a helmet. _I saw a human silhouette, but I have no idea what it was_. _I encountered it somewhere near the seventh layer. It's been observing me intently for a while now. What an idiot. I've been observing you back. It's about the size of a human child, and it looks like it's wearing rags. Its arms, legs, and head are all disproportionately large, as though it's wearing some kind of armour. I tried calling out to it, but it ran away from me. it went up, with a strength that astounded me. To be able to ascend so easily from this depth, Is it even human? I have no idea, but I'm getting closer to the answer._

"Reg!" Natt's voice echoed through Reg's ears. He had completely zoned out, whilst remembering Riko reading him the passage from Lyza's letter about the mysterious silhouette. 

"There's no point in just digging up the grass." Said Natt. "You won't find anything except for bugs there. If you want to dig, try one of the stones..." He stopped, as Reg dug his hands under a massive flat stone, and began to lift. 

"not like that, that rock's far to heavy..." He began to say, as Reg lifted the stone above his head, and looked underneath, finding some kind of round stone.

"Natt, what's this?" He asked. "It looks like a rock, but it's soft, and squeezes if you press on it."

"Not sure." Said Natt. "It's not a spin stone, and I'm not sure about anything else it could be.

"Do you think it's a major artifact?" Asked Reg.

"Nah, all you find around here is junk."

"If it's only junk, can I keep it, then?"

"What? No!" Natt looked scared at the thought. "That counts as theft from the delver's guild! They'll hang you from the ceiling for that!" Reg thought about Riko's large collection of artifacts, and realised that if stealing artifacts was a crime, she was probably one of the most wanted criminals in Orth.

Reg continued digging, finding more of the soft stones. He dug further, until he hit something hard. When he saw what it was, he jumped back in shock, knocking Natt to the ground. 

"What is that!?" Reg shouted.

Natt looked down the hole.

"That's just a praying skeleton." Said Natt. "They're remains from two thousand years ago, and they're all in that exact position." He waited for Reg to calm down, then continued talking. "Did you hear the story, about the children who died on their birthdays?" Reg looked confused, so he kept talking. "Children who are eagerly waiting for their birthdays to come are dying on that exact day. They've all died in different ways, but they were all on their birthdays. The rumour goes that if you look in the mirror on the morning of your birthday, and see yourself with a twisted neck, you're going to die."  
"No way! I don't believe that stuff!" Said Reg. 

"Don't worry." Said Natt. "I don't believe it anyway."

"There is one thing I believe." Said Reg. "That the answer to all of these things is at the bottom of the abyss. The origin of the artifacts, the cause of the curse, and the reason I was made, are all down there. If I reach the bottom, I might find all those answers. Reg looked out over the abyss.

"What is wrong with you?" Said Natt, angrily. "Both you and Riko have a screw loose. Like I said yesterday, I'm against it. You're still a red whistle, and you're only twelve."

"Natt, are you..."

"It doesn't matter! Just pick up the rocks, and let's get out of here.

_The night before..._

"Are you sure about this?" Shiggy asked. They were sitting in Riko's room, with the part of the letter Riko had stolen on the floor, illuminated by an oil lamp. 

"Yes." Said Riko. "My mother is down there, and she needs our help."

"Why did you steal the 'I'll be waiting at the bottom' part?" Asked Shiggy.

"It's from the letter my mother wrote to me. It's mine."

"What're you going to do after you reach the observation base?" Asked Shiggy.

"I'll head to the bottom, where my mum is waiting. From the observation base, I'll..." Natt cut her off.

"I'm against it. You talk about the bottom of the abyss like it's some normal place, but you'll never be able to return once you go down there. You'll never be able to see any of us again."

"You know I've always wanted to become a white whistle." Said Riko. "I'm prepared to sacrifice that.

"You don't understand!" Said Natt. "You'll never be able to do anything normal again. You'll never be able to go to Jiruo's lessons, or Auntie's house, or play with us ever again."

"I-I know that.. Already!"

"You're crying now!" Said Natt.

"So are you!"

Reg and Shiggy watched the chaos unfold, As Riko tackled Natt to the ground, and he retaliated.

"...We should probably get some sleep." Said Shiggy. "It's your first descent tomorrow, after all."

"Let's meet again tomorrow night." Said Shiggy. "I'll have the data by then."

**Author's Note:**

> Idk if riko is actually related to Habolg or not, but the translation im copying from calls him uncle habolg.


End file.
